Admission & Financial Aid Grace Lee '24

December 10, 2021

Hi there, Prospective Mammoth!

It’s finally the dreaded reading period, and finals week looms on Amherst College students. After a semester of hard work, it is time to finish off the semester strong. I have three finals: Organic Chemistry on Monday and Biology and American Sign Language on Wednesday. Though I try not to worry about my grades too much, studying for final exams is still incredibly stressful. I’ve been checking out a few study spaces on campus lately, and here are a few of my favorite spots in no particular order. 

1. Science Center Q Center: Located near the Keefe Science Library in the Science Center, the Moss Quantitative Center has been one of my go-to study spaces since last year. Though the Q Center offers many different types of help (like the Q Fellow), I mainly visit it to study in a cubicle. The Q Center has many little green cubicles that I like to call “granum” (look it up). It usually isn’t too loud in there, and the cubicles are private enough that I can focus but not too private that I will slack off. 
2. Frost Library B Level: The B Level is two floors below the first floor of Robert Frost Library. It’s designated as a Silent Zone, meaning that everyone is expected to keep quiet with little to no talking. I think the B Level is a great place to sit down for a few hours and get all of my work done. Sometimes, it gets a bit stuffy and restricting, but the silence keeps me in study mode. There is another floor under the B Level (called, surprise surprise, the C Level), but I have yet to become desperate enough to venture into its dark depths. One day. 
3. Morrow first floor common room: It’s not necessarily a study space, but I like to sit down at the table and eat while I work there. The common room is often empty in the morning so I like to claim the table as soon as I wake up and get breakfast. It’s not very work-inducing, but I can greet everyone who happens to walk by. And during the winter, I don’t have to leave my dorm to study here, which is a plus. 
4. Greenways study common rooms: I’m not sure what these spaces are exactly called, but the Greenway Dorms, which I lived in last year, have study spaces in them. It has everything you need: comfortable chairs, desks, lights, and a great view of the mountains. The Greenways are very far from my current dorm so I never study in them anymore, but if you happen to live there, they make a great studying space. 

I wish everyone good luck with finals! Have a studious evening!

November 26, 2021

Hi there, prospective Mammoth!

While many people decide to go back home for Thanksgiving Break, I chose to stay on campus for the week to avoid the hassles of traveling. The Class & Access Resource Center arranged activities for on-campus students to do, such as a trip to Montague Book Mill and a friendsgiving takeout dinner from Paradise of India. However, my friends and I decided to create our own itinerary. 

Saturday

We went to a swim meet against Colby College to cheer on our friends. Amherst won by a landslide! Afterward, we also ate dinner at Miss Saigon, which is a Vietnamese restaurant in town. 

Sunday

Noodle night! A few of us in the Asian Culture House and our friends decided to have a spontaneous instant noodle night. We made instant black bean noodles and instant ramen. 

Monday

Boston trip! In prep for our upcoming friendsgiving dinner, we made a day trip to Boston. We got to Boston around lunchtime and stopped at BAB Korean Bistro. We wandered through Newbury Street for a couple of hours, visiting Muji, entering a Harry Potter store (go Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff!), and gawking at the vibrant sunset. We then split up for dinner, as all of us had dinner plans with old friends. I had dinner with my high school friend who goes to MIT at The Mad Monkfish in Cambridge which was a nice chance to catch up. After meeting up with the rest of the Amherst group, we made our way to Hmart and bought groceries needed for our friendsgiving dinner. We planned on stopping by Gong Cha for some boba, but the store closed early so we settled on getting cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory instead. Finally, we arrived at Amherst College and fell right asleep after a long day. 

Tuesday

There wasn’t much planned for this day, so I spent most of it sleeping in and watching Netflix. Amherst College invited all students who stayed on campus to a fancy Thanksgiving dinner at the Inn on Boltwood, so we all attended the 5 p.m. time. They served bread rolls, roast pork, salmon, salad, cheesecake, and more. The food was delicious, and we all had a wonderful time just chatting and spending time with friends. After the Boltwood dinner, some of us watched Squid Game in our common room. 

Wednesday

Professor Schneider, who teaches my MUSI-110 The Symphony Orchestra class, and Professor Moricz invited all of their students to a Thanksgiving dinner at their house. One friend and I decided to take up his offer and walked to his house at 5 p.m. to help prepare the dinner. There were three other students from Professor Moricz’s class and Prof. Schneider and Moricz’s daughter, adding up to a crowd of eight at the dinner table. We had chicken, matzo ball soup, salad, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and more! It was extremely kind of them to invite us all to dinner, and I felt like I got to know them better as people. 

Thursday

Happy Thanksgiving! It was finally time for our highly anticipated friendsgiving dinner. The people in the Asian Culture House who stayed over Thanksgiving break invited some of their friends to eat grilled pork belly and ramen. While Valentine Hall, our dining hall, was closed over Thanksgiving dinner, we were able to have a warm meal with friends by our sides. 

The rest of the break will be spent scrambling to finish homework and regretting that I didn’t plan out my week more efficiently. However, this was a break well-spent, and I am thankful that I was able to have my friends at my side during this break. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving break!

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November 19, 2021

Hi there, prospective Mammoth! 

Ever since I started violin in seventh grade, I knew that I wanted to continue playing in an orchestra in college and maybe even beyond. One of the factors that I looked at when applying to colleges was whether they had an orchestra. I checked out the Amherst Symphony Orchestra’s recordings when I committed to Amherst College and looked forward to joining the orchestra. I hope that if any of you are interested in joining the orchestra or enjoy listening to classical music, this blog post will help you learn more about the orchestra. 

ASO meets every Tuesday and Thursday, 7 to 9:30 p.m. in Buckley Recital Hall. Once you get into the orchestra through an audition (that everyone passes), you are in for good. The orchestra has about four concerts per semester. I am a first violinist in the orchestra and joined in my freshman year. During my year and a half in the orchestra, I’ve played Beethoven Symphony No. 5, Brahms Academic Festival Overture, Beethoven String Quartet No. 4, Dvorak Symphony No. 8, and more. This past week (on 11/13), we had a Homecoming Concert where we played Elgar’s Enigma Variations, Overture to the Pirates of Penzance, and Delius Paradise Garden. This was the first concert in over a year that outside guests could attend the performance in person, so it was great to see everyone’s excitement to attend. 

Some fun orchestra traditions include a 15-minute candy break in the middle of rehearsal, dressing up as Mark (our conductor) for the rehearsal before Halloween, being greeted by our mascot Gustav the pig, and orchestra dinners on Tuesdays. Though the rehearsals sometimes feel long, I would say that ASO is definitely worth it! The pieces are difficult, but I always feel a sense of accomplishment when we play the final note of the concert. I’ve met so many wonderful people through the orchestra, and I am grateful to be a part of ASO. Please feel free to reach out to me at yelee24@amherst.edu if you have any questions regarding music at Amherst or anything else! Have a great Thanksgiving!

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    Photo courtesy of Haoran Tong '23

October 8, 2021

Hi there, prospective Mammoth!

If you’re like me, one reason that you’ve thought about applying to Amherst College is the Five College Consortium—reaping the benefits of a small college while having five colleges’ worth of courses to choose from. Fortunately, due to my statistics section getting canceled, I had an extra class that I could take for fun. I only made it halfway through the “A”s of the UMass Amherst course catalog, as I immediately knew I wanted to take American Sign Language as soon as I saw that UMass offered it.

Registering for a Five College Consortium course was easy. I filled out some forms found on Amherst College’s website, asked the ASL professor if there was space in the class, and I was done! It was a super simple process though I had registered only a few days before classes started.

Though the registration process was simple, I had to figure out how to physically get to the class. UMass is relatively close by, but I didn’t have a car or the time to walk an hour for a round trip. Thankfully, I had three other classmates from Amherst, one of whom had a car, so I could carpool with them. Before I realized that there were other Amherst students in that class, I took the PVTA bus (which is free if you show your student ID). So fear not! If you also don’t have a reliable means of transportation, I can quickly describe my commute to UMass by public transportation.

Hailing from a suburb where every family has a car, I have never relied on public transportation to get places. When I realized I had to take the bus to get to class, I was nervous about missing the bus—or worse, falling asleep in the bus and waking up in the middle of who-knows-where. Google Maps solved all of my problems. It told me when I should start walking, which bus to take, and how many stops to ride. No, I did not wake up in a cornfield. Yes, I made it safely and punctually to my first day of ASL class. (I will note that the buses get full and arrive late during peak hours. BUT the buses are air-conditioned, which is a blessing in a crowded car on a hot and humid summer day.) If you plan on taking the bus, I recommend downloading the BusTrack app.

Every time I step onto the sprawling UMass campus, I am inspired by the infinite possibilities I have as a college student. Enrolling in sign language just because I wanted to is an incredibly liberating and empowering feeling. I am only disappointed that I have a meager three years left as a liberal arts college student. With only five more semesters left, I hope to take advantage of everything Amherst has to offer and graduate leaving no stones unturned.

October 15, 2021

Hi there, prospective Mammoth! 

After six long weeks of hard work, the much-awaited fall break arrived! We only had two extra days for fall break, and we were going to make use of the time. Student Activities hosted Pie at the Powerhouse, a hike to Mount Sugarloaf, and apple picking at Park Hill Orchard, but we decided to create our own itinerary. 

Saturday

Though I had planned on sleeping in and relaxing most of Saturday, I ended up taking an impromptu trip to Share Coffee Amherst, a coffee shop in town, to study with a few residents from my floor. Though there was a crowd in the cafe, it was a surprisingly pleasant work environment. The study session had a leisurely vibe, and as I sipped my vanilla latte, I thought “Yes, this is what college should be like.” 

Sunday

After I attended church in the morning, my friend and I stopped by Bruegger’s Bagels on our way back. (I don’t know if you can tell, but my life revolves around food.) My Western breakfast sandwich was delicious and left me craving for more. Then, a few friends and I took a PVTA bus to Hampshire Mall. Though it seemed like pointless wandering, we had a secret mission: buy “Happy Birthday” balloons without one of our friends knowing. We planned on throwing her a surprise birthday party, and what’s a party without balloons? We managed to secretly buy some festive balloons, and then we all headed over to the Cinemark to watch Shang Chi. The last movie I had seen in a theater was Frozen 2 in 2019, so I was buzzing with anticipation. It definitely lived up to the hype! 

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When we got back from the movie, I snuck off to Morris Pratt, a dorm, to set up our friend’s birthday party. We didn’t have much time to prepare, so we just taped the balloons on the wall and propped up our gifts and cards on a couch. Our friend came to the common room thinking that we were there to do karaoke (which we did afterward), and we managed to take her by surprise. 

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Monday
Six Flags! Six Flags New England is about 40 minutes from Amherst College, but you do need a car to get there. Here, I realized how much I disliked heights after riding Superman. There were surprisingly a lot of people at the amusement park, and we spent a while waiting in lines. However, the trip was definitely worth it. My friend also treated us all to takeout dinner from Arigato Sushi, a Japanese restaurant in town, as her birthday dinner. 

 

Tuesday

Having procrastinated on work for the entirety of fall break, I decided to visit the Science Center to work on some of my assignments. I ended up sleeping in longer than I meant to, but I did get a lot of work done. After dinner, my friends and I took a walk on the Rail Trail to see the sunset. The pink feathery clouds were a sight to behold, and the walk was a peaceful way to end our adventure-filled fall break. 

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I hope you enjoyed reading about how we spent four days of fun in western Massachusetts—if you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email at yelee24@amherst.edu. Have a wonderful fall!

October 22, 2021

Hi there, prospective Mammoth! 

When I was applying to college, I often wondered what an average college student did. I perused the school website, checked out college profiles on US News, and daydreamed about attending that college. I hope that this rundown of my day will give you an insight into what a Friday at Amherst College might look like. Today was a bit more exciting than my Fridays usually are. 

7:45am: Wake up, get ready, and head to Val for breakfast and coffee (a must with 9 a.m. classes for me). 

9am to 1pm: Classes! On Fridays, I have three classes: BIOL-191, Organic Chemistry 1, and MUSI-110. I get an hour break in between my three classes, so I usually use that time to wind down. If I am particularly busy that week, I try to get an easy task done during that time. 

1pm: Lunch! Today’s lunch was the shrimp po boy sandwich, which is one of my top meals at Val. 

2:30pm: Boba run to Moge Tee! If you’ve ever met me, you know about my obsession with boba (I even run a boba account on Instagram). And yes, I call it “boba” and not “bubble tea.”

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4pm: Mom’s House! We walked to Mom’s House, a convenience store with Asian snacks and food. It’s a short 13 minute walk, and at the end of our foraging activities, we emerged victorious with a few snacks and drinks for our sleepover (more on that later :’)

5:30pm: Science Center! I had to check on my slime mold lab for BIOL-181 and record data. Though my lab was on Tuesday afternoon, we had to collect data at 24 hours, 48 hours, and 72 hours. It was a quick stop at the Science Center, my favorite building on campus, to check on how the cells were moving. 

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6:30pm: Orchestra dinner! Amherst Symphony Orchestra usually treats the first-year students to dinner as a welcome into the orchestra. Since we couldn’t have that tradition last year, the orchestra decided to have a first year-sophomore dinner today. We ordered takeout from Crazy Noodles and got to know everyone a bit better. 

10pm: After working on a few of my assignments, my friends and I dragged my mattress to their double and inflated an air mattress, for a total of four beds in that double. We brought out the snacks that we got from Mom’s House and had a little sleepover. It was a fun way to wrap up a stressful week (two midterms!) and a great way to bond with my former suitemates from last semester. 

Have a wonderful night!

Some extra photos from the day: 

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October 29, 2021

Hi there, prospective Mammoth! 

Thanks to the Open Curriculum, many Amherst students can and decide to double major. According to the Amherst Student, the school's student-run newspaper, about 40 percent of Amherst College students took more than one major in 2015. As enticing as earning two degrees may be, I struggled to decide whether I wanted to be a double major or not. Unfortunately, Amherst doesn’t offer minors, so I do have to commit to either one or two majors with no in-between. 

For now, I’ve declared Biology as my major. However, since freshman year, I’ve also considered English, Music, and Biochemistry and Biophysics. My interests have definitely narrowed down since I started college as a wide-eyed, newly graduated first-year. Now, I know that I want to major in Biology and am considering double majoring in Music. I love every aspect of the Music major but there are a few things that hold me back from declaring it as a second major. I hope that by listing my reasoning for double majoring or not, you will be able to start thinking about your academic journey (if you are considering a double major). 

Pros

• Further my interests in both academic fields and possibly write a thesis in either/both departments. I definitely want to write a thesis for Biology, and I think it would be very fun to do a violin performance thesis for Music in Buckley Recital Hall. Compared to other colleges and universities, I would also be able to finish both majors in four years due to the open curriculum. 
• Earn two degrees to document my proficiency in both subjects
• Use skills from both majors and obtain a diverse viewpoint
• I just love both!

Con 

• Less space for other classes. I want to take classes in Psychology, and attempting both majors leaves no extra space to take classes in other subjects. This is especially a problem since I am also on the pre-med track. There are too many things I want to learn about, and double majoring would require me to take only Biology and Music classes. This is the only con I could think of, but it is definitely a substantial one. 

Some other points I want to mention is that you shouldn’t double major just because you can and DEFINITELY not because you feel pressured that everyone else is double majoring. Both majors should be a worthwhile educational endeavor that you absolutely cannot give up. All-in-all, I find that I can just pick and choose the music classes that interest me and not pursue a second degree in Music. There are too many classes that capture my interest, and since college is only four years, it would be a waste to not take everything that I want to. Of course, Music is still on my radar as a potential double major in case I change my mind. But for now, I think that Amherst College doesn’t have the open curriculum to make double majors easier for students—it offers us the chance to explore whatever we want to our heart’s content. If you still want to double major, check out my friend Sophie Goldsmith’s blog in which she discusses how she can pursue two majors and study abroad.

Have a wonderful day!

November 5, 2021

Hi there, prospective Mammoth! 

Coming from Southern California, I’m no stranger to boba. When I heard that Amherst College had three boba shops within a five-minute walk from campus, I realized that my wallet would be a lot lighter once we could go off-campus. For the fellow boba addicts out there reading this blog, I thought I’d hold/write a boba showdown/review with the three boba shops in town: Moge, Vivi’s, LimeRed (ranked in that order). 

Moge: Moge ranks the highest on my list for a few reasons. The main reason is that Moge makes the best brown sugar milk tea, my go-to order. Though some of my friends disagree, I think that Moge’s brown sugar boba (the tapioca pearls themselves) is the right amount of chewy and adds a great flavor to the tea. However, a downside is that Moge has sub-par regular boba that is not very sweet. The price for a single drink is also very high, which sometimes discourages me from going too often (maybe that’s better for my wallet). Some drink recommendations: brown sugar milk tea and fresh strawberry tea. 

Vivi’s: This boba shop is ranked second on my list. Compared to Moge, Vivi’s boba is a bit bland, but it is still enjoyable to eat. Vivi’s has a more unique menu than Moge, including drinks like Blue Galaxy, Oreo Creme Brulee, and Earl Grey float. Whenever I need a change of pace from my brown sugar milk teas, I visit Moge. Some drink recommendations: strawberry yakult and Blue Galaxy. 

LimeRed: I don’t think I’ve ever been to LimeRed this year, but lots of clubs had events that had boba from LimeRed. I probably should give LimeRed a try, but from the drinks that I’ve tried so far, I would rank it last. Their boba is very hard and flavorless compared to Moge and Vivi’s. Their fruit jelly is very good, but overall, I prefer Moge and Vivi’s. However, LimeRed also sells Korean chicken and corn dogs, so you can buy both a meal and a drink while you’re there. 

Besides boba, there are plenty of food options in town so I suggest trying everything out! Have a wonderful evening!

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November 12, 2021

Hi there, prospective Mammoth! 

Amherst College is a residential college, so most of its students choose to live on campus for all four years. Of the 34 residence halls and houses on campus, my favorite is Morrow Dormitory. What makes Morrow so special is the Asian Cultural House, located on the second floor. ACH is one of the Theme Communities that sophomores, juniors, and seniors can apply to live in, and it is currently my dorm. Though it has only been a few months, I’ve enjoyed every moment that I’ve been in ACH. Here is my overview of ACH, and I hope that you will consider theme housing when you are here!

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ACH aims to promote and raise awareness about cultural diversity and different Asian cultures. We do this by holding discussions and projects that allow us to create conversation and celebrate the diverse cultures. All residents are expected to lead one discussion and one project during the year, on top of actively participating in ACH activities and discussions. For example, our discussions this semester have been on our Asian identity and language. We’ve had one project so far: a Japanese art night where we made origami and received a care package filled with snacks and stationary. I am planning on having a karaoke night as a group project. Outside of our official meetings, we sometimes work on homework together in the common room and chat about anything that we’ve been up to. We’ve also had a formal where we dressed up for dinner. 

What I love about ACH is that it feels like a home I can return to. Everyone knows everyone on the floor so there are lots of enthusiastic “hi”s when you come back to the floor. There’s been a few spontaneous trips to get food at night, takeout trips, and ranting sessions, and I appreciate that I have this community to share my culture with. I’ve met so many amazing people here, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my sophomore year with them. I will definitely reapply for next year, and I encourage everyone to consider living in the many theme housing at Amherst.

Have a wonderful evening!